Barddas is the text most often cited as source material for modern Druidry, compiled and published by Iolo Morganwg (Edward Williams) in the early nineteenth century as what he presented as ancient Welsh bardic doctrine. Modern Druidry's own account is explicit that Morganwg fabricated the early sources he claimed to be transcribing, so the text is read today as a nineteenth century construction rather than a genuine survival of pre-Christian Druidic teaching. Alongside it, the shorter Druid's Prayer and Druid's Vow serve as more widely used devotional texts. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Status
Canonical StatusSourced to the subject's own accountModern Druidry's own sources acknowledge Iolo Morganwg fabricated the early material Barddas claims to transcribe; it is used and valued today as a nineteenth century foundational text rather than treated as an authentic ancient survival, hence apocryphal rather than canonical. Status TodaySourced to the subject's own accountLiving tradition, practised today 1 Origins
Era of CompositionSourced to the subject's own accountearly nineteenth century 1 LanguageSourced to the subject's own account Attestation
HistoricitySourced to the subject's own account Connections
Attributed To
Source Barddas (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Authored By
Source Barddas (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Belongs to Tradition
Source Wikipedia: Druidry (modern)Wikipedia contributors
In Language
Originates in Language
Source Barddas (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Sources
1. Barddas (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikipedia, 2026Lead section
It was posthumously published by John Williams for the Welsh Manuscripts Society in two volumes, in 1862 and 1874.
- In Group: Modern Pagan Movement Scriptures
Originates in Language: English, Infobox, language field
English
View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
Choose a year to see this entry's facts and connections as the atlas records them at that moment: what it held then, what it held instead, and what it had not yet adopted. Choose Present for the current record.